Protected
by KarmicRetribution
Summary: A promise that is made is kept. What changes will be made to Frisk's journey with their protector by their side?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Later chapters should be longer. Enjoy!**

It was with a heavy heart that you pulled away from Toriel. Though she had attempted to block your way, and attacked you, she had done it out of a need to protect you. You shake off the feel of near missed burns, and give her a small smile. She gives you one in return, wiping the tears out of her eyes, and heads off back down the corridor.

She doesn't look back.

Resisting the urge to run after her, and apologize, you turn back to the door, and walk through. It leads you to another cavern, with a grassy hill in the middle with sunlight illuminating the single flower there. A familiar face looks back at you.

"So. You didn't kill her, and you managed not to get killed. Congratulations." Flowey says sarcastically, the same fake cheer that had at first fooled you in his voice.

"How long do you think your luck will last? Not everyone is as friendly as I am." You roll your eyes, which he either doesn't notice or pretends not to notice, too caught up in his monologue. "Soon, you'll have to make a choice. Either kill, or get yourself killed. After a while, you'll have to give power back to me!"

You cock your head, confused. What power? What is he talking about? As he continues his monologue, asking questions that don't actually require answers, there's one thing you're sure of. You'll prove Flowey wrong. You won't kill, or be killed.

He finally notices the expression on your face. "You think you're so tough? Let's see how you handle being out there!" With a malicious look on his, uh, face, he disappears into the ground.

When he doesn't reappear or pop up somewhere else, you take a few cautious steps forward. He doesn't show up again, or at least not that you can see, so you go all the way to the door. The temperature drops noticeably around that area, and the door is cold to the touch. Opening it, the piercing wind is the first thing you notice, and the sudden lack of darkness. That, and the fact the door is closed behind you. You give it a few experimental tugs, but it doesn't open. Locked, from the inside.

Turning your face back into the wind, you squint your eyes, and resolve yourself to keep moving forward. Thankful for the little protection your sweater gives you from the cold, you head down the trail right in front of you, unaware of any that might be observing you.


	2. Chapter 2

The wind in your ears muffle any other noise. You can't hear any sound beside it, not even yourself.

Except for the loud snap that seems to resound through the forest, everything becoming still, the wind dying down, and your blood freezing cold.

You tentatively look back, and see that the huge branch you had stepped over was now broken cleanly in two. The remaining blood draining from your face, you snap your head forward, and run.

The wind gone, you keep listening for any sound of pursuit. There's just silence, which doesn't reassure you at all.

You come to a bridge, and then freeze. You just can't move. Your SOUL feels heavy in your chest, and your feet feel rooted to the ground. You're paralyzed by fear, as the sound you had been listening for becomes steadily louder. The sound of heavy footsteps approaching.

They come steadily closer, until they're right behind you. A deep voice says eerily, "Hey kid. Don't you know how to greet a new friend?"

With trepidation, you slowly turn around, and see an outstretched hand. You can't focus on the rest of the body as you stare at that hand, and hesitantly, you stretch out your own, and take their hand.

A loud farting noise sounds, causing you to start and the tension to dissipate. The person whose hand you're holding chuckles heartily, who you can now see is a skeleton, mimes wiping tears away from their eyes sockets.

"whoopie cushion in the hand trick. gets them every time."

Despite yourself and the appearance of your new friend, you feel the corners of your mouth twitch up into a smile, and you chuckle too.

The skeleton gives you what appears to be an appreciative look, achieved by the apparent malleability of his, for he appears to be male, face, and says, "ah, you appear to be a fine coinessur of the comedic arts! a kid after my own art."

His over formality coaxes a giggle from you, causing his own grin to widen further. Taking his hand back, he puts it in the pocket of his hoodie. "anyways, my name is sans. sans the skeleton." He winks and you giggle again.

"you're a human right?" You nod eagerly. "cool. you know, i'm supposed to be on the look out for humans. got to capture them and all." You freeze again. The warm feeling you got from talking to this friendly skeleton vanishes as you realize he must have been just acting friendly to get your guard down. A voice in your head whispers that your defenses aren't as strong when you're not expecting it. He must have noticed the look of panic on your face, for he says his next words quickly, but somehow with that air of casualness he just seems to exude. "not that i'm interested in catching humans. too much work. i'm much too lazy." He winks again, and you relax, though you're now on guard. His grin droops a bit.

"so, um. my brother made these bars. supposed to keep humans out, but they're much too big to keep anyone out." He shrugs. "he's more interested in catching humans than i, but he's harmless. he would never hurt anyone, monster or human. not even by accident. but, if you could do me a favor?"

You tentatively nod. He seems to perk up again.

"if you could let him see you? he's never seen a human before, and i know it would make his day. he'll mostly just try to get you to do his puzzles. and don't worry, i'll be here to make sure you don't get hurt. what'd ya say?"

Despite yourself, you find yourself trusting Sans, so you nod. He perks up even further. "thanks human. say, he's coming now. how about you hide behind that conveniently shaped lamp. i'll introduce you two properly later."

You rush to hide behind the lamp, and Sans somehow gets behind the station. Another skeleton arrives, looking more like a proper skeleton than Sans, and proceeds to scold Sans for his apparent laziness. You can tell that Papyrus is being as serious as a theatrical staged production, and his and Sans's antics cause you to have to stifle your laughter.

When Papyrus looks over, the laughter dies in your throat. And when Sans starts encouraging him to check out the lamp, you're sure he's trying to betray you. Like Flowey did. Like Toriel did.

But his urging just makes Papyrus resistant to the idea, and Papyrus rushes off. Overall, your impression of Papyrus is that he's a goofy, but ultimately sweet guy.

"you can come out now. he's gone and not coming back."

You tentatively come out from behind the lamp, rubbing your arms to encourage warmth. Sans notices. And he notices something else.

"oh, kiddo, you crying?"

You furiously wipe the tears away, and fervently shake your head.

You're caught off guard when two surprisingly warm blue clad arms wrap you up in a hug. You tense for a moment, feeling him react, but unlike the hug with Toriel, Sans just genuinely wants to help. "i'm sorry kiddo, i hadn't meant to scare you. my brother tends to do the opposite of what i tell him to do, and teasing him was the first thing i could think of to get him to go away. i'm sorry kiddo."

His gentle words break the dam inside of you, and you burst out crying, burying your face in his shoulder as he rubs your back. You both stay like that for a few minutes, until your tears dry up and you feel better. Sniffling, you pull away, and Sans lets you. "feel better?"

You nod.

"good." A heavy weight settles into your shoulders, and you look up to see him no longer wearing his blue jacket. He lazily winks. "d'un want you getting cold to the bone."

You giggle, causing him to look relieved. He holds out his hand. "come on, let me introduce you to my brother."

Smiling at him widely, you take his hand without hesitation.


	3. Chapter 3

He's… surprisingly bony, considering how well the jacket had fit him. Eying his form as he walks beside you, you figure it must be magic that made him fill out the jacket. Because you feel practically suffocated in it, but it hadn't even drooped on his form.

And it's also magic that gives him a semblance of body warmth, since the jacket is deliciously warm, and well insulated, keeping out the cold and wind. His hand also feels warm in yours, through his gloves.

Of course, you muse, his clothes could have heaters in them or something, like your favorite electric blanket. Before you can stop yourself, you reach out with your free hand, and touch the side of his skull.

Instead of freaking out like you half expected, he glances at you calmly. "did i pass inspection?" He asks, grinning widely, as if reading your thoughts. Maybe that's a thing Monsters can actually do, since Flowey seemed able to do it. You sheepishly nod. His skull feels smooth, and slightly warm to the touch. Not like human flesh, but not unpleasant either. So, maybe it was body warmth that warmed this jacket.

Not sure if it's rude to continue looking at him, now that he knows you're staring, you look around. There's not much around to look at. Just some trees and snow. Looking up, you can't see the cavern ceiling that you know is there, and you briefly wonder exactly how big the Underground is.

You're pulled out of your thoughts by Sans stopping beside you. You look over, and he winks. "go on ahead. i'll be right back." Without waiting for an answer, he spins around and heads back down the way you came, going off into the trees. Confused, you do as he says, and continue down the trail. Soon, you hear familiar boisterous shouting, and come upon Papyrus. And Sans.

Staring at him, baffled, you whip you're head between him and the way you just came. How did he get ahead of you?!

Sensing your presence, he turns his head, and winks. He seems to do that a lot. Papyrus turns to see what Sans is looking at.

"WOWIE SANS! IS THAT A HUMAN?"

"nope. that's a rock."

Huh? What was he getting at? Did he hope Papyrus was too stupid to know that you were human?

"OH." Papyrus sounds a bit disappointed, and you get the urge to comfort him. Before you can say anything though, Sans speaks up.

"hey, what's that in front of the rock?"

You look behind you, seeing that there is indeed a rock behind you, and somewhat explaining Sans' previous answer. He was teasing his brother.

"LOOK! A HUMAN!"

"yep."

You frown at him, a bit peeved. He winks at you again.

While the prospect of being captured, or killed, doesn't really appeal to you, you remember your promise to Sans, and what he had said about his brother. And Sans' own promise that he wouldn't let you get hurt.

A strong feeling overtakes you, urging to forward. You set your face, and approach.

 **Author's Note: A lot of the chapters will vary in length. Depends on how I want to finish a chapter. Also, critiques are appreciated! ^^ I'm always looking for room for growth!**


	4. Chapter 4

Up front and up close, Papyrus is even more eccentric than he had when you had been hiding behind a lamp.

Instead of focusing on capturing you, he seems more interested in you trying to solve his puzzles.

After a brief spiel, which you had missed in your nervousness, he runs off to set up the first puzzle, leaving you and Sans behind. It was… a bit anticlimactic. Despite Sans's reassurances, you had still feared the huge skeleton. Now, not so much.

"hey kiddo." You look up, Sans right next to you even though you hadn't heard his foot steps approaching. "told ya that you had nothing to worry about. and thanks, my brother obviously feels much better already." He winks, and walks off. Watching him in his white tank top, you realize that you're still wearing his jacket. You're a bit surprised Papyrus hadn't said anything about it. You rush to keep up with him and give it back, but he turns a corner, and vanishes. Literally. You look high and low but there's no trace of the stocky skeleton. This must be how he also got ahead of you when he had gone in the opposite direction.

Shrugging, you keep moving forward. You had a feeling you would see Sans again soon enough. And you can't shake the feeling of being watched.

You wish you could take your time looking around, and explore the place, but you had to keep moving. A feeling of regret fills you. If things go right, after your journey, you'll never see this place again, and you'll never get another opportunity to explore its secrets. But if you wasted too much time, you might never… You shake your head, clearing it of gloomy thoughts. No need to besuch a Negative Nelly.

Up ahead, you see a similar structure to the one Sans had, presumably a Sentry Station. Except… it's made of cardboard. It's relatively well crafted. Curiosity overtakes you, and you check it out. Reading the note, you can't help but giggle. Despite it not being signed, you get a distinctively Papyrus-y feel from it. You kind of feel bad that he is forced to use a station that he made himself. No wonder he goes on patrol. If you were a Royal Guardsman, you would not want to be behind this station much either. Awww, you made yourself sad. Sighing, you start on your way again, stopping when you feel your heart lurch at the sight of another Monster.

It has a jagged appearance, almost everything about it sharp and poky. Ok, you weren't the best with words, no one was going to nominate you for best poet but it looked like the Monster could hug you and would puncture your organs.

You brace yourself for the Monster to engage you in battle, but it never comes.

"heyo kiddo. making friends i see."

The Monster rolls his eyes. "I wasn't doing anything Sans."

"yes you were. you are loitering. and it looked like you were going to fight the kiddo. you could have hurt them. you know picking fights aren't nice."

He shakes his head. "I'm not loitering! How else am I going to show off my cool hat? They think it's cool too, right?"

You realize that he's talking about you, so you nod and give him a thumbs up. It's not a lie, since his hat is made of icicles, which are very cool.

"alright, but don't let me catch you around here again ice cap, especially without supervision. you know that, this is sentry area."

"You're not my dad!" Ice Cap says, turning around and heading in the other direction, disappearing into the tree line.

"don't mind him kiddo. a lot of Snowdin's teens hang out in the woods. gotta watch out for them."

You're... pleasantly surprised that that encounter turned out more peaceful that you thought.

"told ya i would be here to make sure you didn't get hurt."

Overcome with relief, you grin widely at him. And then you remember how Toriel said she would also take care of you. You can still feel the phantom burns along your skin, and the smell of cooking flesh and singed hair.

Your smile drops, and Sans notices, but doesn't say anything, for which you are grateful. You don't know how you would have explained that you were worried he was going to attack you. Despite everything. If you trust hard, you're let down hard.

This time, as you continue on, Sans sticks by you.

 **Author's Note: Hey guys! I hope you guys are enjoying this story! Im sure I had a point when I started writing this, but I forgot. Anyways, thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Posting a bit early. Chapter is also a bit short. I'll try to make up for the short chapters by posting more, but any long time follower of my stories know I don't really know if I can keep my promises. I'll try my best though.**

Sans is silent as you walk with him, and you don't mind. You don't particularly want to talk.

Very shortly after leaving what you presumed to be Papyrus's station, you come across another, more well-made Station. This one appears to be a professional one. And behind the counter is a sleeping dog. A grin breaks out on your face. You love dogs! And dogs usually love you. This one kind of seems like a Sheperd Dog. It has a pretty peaceful sleeping face. For a second, you even forget that it's a Monster. A sentry Monster to boot.

Snow crunches underfoot as you pass it's station, and suddenly, the dog is awake.

"Who's there!" He calls out, causing you to freeze in your spot. His eyes squinted and knives that seemed to have materialized out of nowhere in each paw, he looks downright terrifying. No longer peaceful looking. "Don't move!" You oblige, though your instincts scream that you should run, thinking this must be the end.

"hey doggo." Sans says, somehow ahead of you again. You didn't see him move.

"Hey Sans. I thought I heard something in front of my station! I told it to freeze, but it hasn't moved so I'm not sure where it is. I'm sure I'll find it!"

You're a bit confused at Doggo's odd phrasing. But you don't ponder it for long before the subtle edge in Sans's voice draw your and Doggo's attention. "i wouldn't worry about it _buddy_. come here kiddo."

Cautiously, you move towards Sans, freezing again when Doggo's attention immediately snaps to you. You instinctively pull your jacket closer around you.

"There you are!"

"yeah doggo. that's my cousin. they're visiting from new home." You don't even try to deny it, even though it's a blatant lie.

Doggo gives a cautious sniff, relaxing. "Oh. Sorry Sans. They have your scent. Next time, give me a little warning, alright? I can recognize most everyone scents from around here, but my eyesight ain't too good." It's not like this Monster can apparently see that you're not a skeleton like Sans and his brother. You're a bit confused about what Doggo means about your scent.

Sans chuckles, seeming to have relaxed as soon as Doggo put down his knives. "no problem. will do next time. they wandered from my sight."

You huff indignantly. Sans was the one who wandered away from you!

"come here kiddo." He repeats. You go to Sans, Doggo not making a move to attack you again. As you pass by his station, you can't resist the urge to reach out and pet his head. Doggo's eyes widen, but then close blissfully as you scratch behind his ears gently. Smiling, you stop, Doggo giving a small whine before composing himself. When you reach Sans, a strange look on his face, you hear Doggo speak up. "Hey Sans, that's a good pup you got there. Watch out for them, alright?"

There's a moment of silence, before Sans chuckles. "righto doggo. that's the plan."

Plan huh? Yeah, he'll watch as you wander into a battle with every Monster you come across.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Surprise surprise, I kept my promise, and no one is more surprised than me.**

After Doggo, Sans vanishes. Again. You were starting to get frustrated with the fickleness of his presence. But you didn't have long to be annoyed when you hear a familiar voice up ahead. "HELLO HUMAN! PREPARE TO BE BAMBOOZLED!"

You come across an area that seems to have a thicker layer of snow than the surrounding area, and across from you is Papyrus. And Sans.

You glare at him while Papyrus talks, and his grin just gets wider and he winks at you. You don't make any move to get closer to them, in case Papyrus tries to snatch you.

"NOW THEN HUMAN! TRY YOUR HAND AT MY INVISIBLE ELECTRIC MAZE!"

Dang it, you missed what Papyrus had said again, caught up in the frustratingly enigmatic behavior of Sa-WAIT DID HE SAY ELECTRIC?!

You look around, filled with trepidation. True to Papyrus's word, you can't see the maze at all, and you don't know how far it extends. You weren't eager to get electricuted, remembering all those horror movies which show people lit up from withing and dancing as if jerked by invisible strings. For a second you imagine the smell of burning flesh, so pervasive and real it might as well be.

"SANS? WHY IS THE HUMAN JUST STANDING THERE?" You faintly hear Papyrus say to Sans in his attempt at a whisper, over the sound of your shaky wheezes. You don't hear what Sans says back. Forcing back the rising bile in your throat, you know you can't go back. There's only forward. Closing your eyes, you take a shaky step forward, hearing Sans start to shout something at you. There's a brief moment where it seems like you're in the eye of the storm. And then your foot connects with a wall.

There's a gentle buzzing sound, but you don't feel a thing. "SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"nothing bro. you forgot to give them the ball." You open your eyes, and look down at your hands. They're unblemished, if not a little red from the cold.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT! THAT SHOCK WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MUCH BIGGER!"

"well, it's a good thing it wasn't, considering you were holding it. honestly, i'm _shocked_ that you forgot to give it to the human." You feel a hysterical giggle threaten to burst out of your throat, but your throat feels too tight, and your eyes hurt. You didn't die.

"SANS! UGH, FINE. HUMAN! STAY RIGHT THERE! I'LL GIVE YOU THE BALL SO THAT YOU CAN PROPERLY COMPLETE THE PUZZLE!"

You look up to see Papyrus approaching, weaving his way through the invisible walls. You try to memorize his movements, but he's too quick, and your vision is a little shaky, so you give up before he even gets halfway. When he's right in front of you, he drops the ball into your arms, and you reflexively grip it, fumbling a bit, and then he goes back to his position next to Sans.

The ball feels cool and smooth in your hands, a little bigger than your own head. You're tempted to drop it, but Papyrus might decide that it would just be easier to capture you, since you wont play along. And you did promise Sans that you would try. Looking down, something catches your eyes. Footprints. From when Papyrus was walking through the maze.

Almost shaking with relief, you keep your eyes on the ground, and grip the ball tightly. Not daring to look up, you walk through the maze, exactly following Papyrus's foot steps. You bump into something, dropping the ball, instinctively looking up. It's Sans, and he's grinning at you, though, somehow, his eye sockets convey his worry. You don't want to answer. You don't want to explain.

"HOW DID YOU COMPLETE MY MAZE HUMAN? YOU MUST BE EXTREMELY CLEVER TO HAVE FIGURED IT OUT IN SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME!"

You shrug, feigning nonchalance, when you were very chalance.

That's good enough for Papyrus, because he turns around and runs off, shouting about his next puzzle will get you.

"hey kiddo." Sans reaches out to grip your shoulder, or arm, or whatever, you don't stick around to find out which, or to hear the rest of what he wants to say, because you run off in the direction Papyrus had run in. The tears you had been suppressing stream down your face, and you know you need to get away.


	7. Chapter 7

You keep running, barely able to see, until you're forced to stop when you can't breathe. Slumping against a nearby tree, you sit on the snow, wheezing. You lean your head against the bark, your chest heaving, the seat of your pants getting wet and cold.

You can't think, you don't want to think.

Each breathe sends a sharp pain through your side, and reminds you that you're alive. Clutching your arms around yourself, you grip the jacket given to you by Sans. You're briefly tempted to rip it off and throw it away from yourself, but as it seems to press on your senses, it helps grounds you. Surprisingly better than digging your nails into your arms.

Slowly, trembling, you stand. When the adrenaline leaves you, you feel numb. You let go of Sans's jacket, your arms hanging loosely by your sides.

Speaking of Sans, he has yet to find you. Or he hasn't gone looking yet. It doesn't matter.

More or less calm, you feel a renewed sense of determination to continue on. You do so, heading down once again on the path.

* * *

You pass by a bunny Monster selling what appears to be ice cream, but makes no effort to approach them. You don't even slow down, though your stomach growls for a second. You ignore it, and continue straight on.

You come to a dead end, with a couple of stations. Thankfully, there doesn't appear to be any sentries or Monsters. You turn back around and go the other way, ignoring the bunny once again and the snowball on the ice, though it does look like it would be fun to kick around, and turn a corner.

In front of you, are Sans and Papyrus.

Sans immediately sees you, concern plainly written on his face, eye sockets searching your face. You stare back.

Papyrus notices you then, seemingly unaware of Sans's reaction.

"AHA! HELLO HUMAN! FOR THIS NEXT PUZZLE, MY BROTHER CAME UP WITH IT HIMSELF!"

You look around. Nothing. You feel your throat constrict. Perhaps it's another invisible electric maze.

"SANS! WHERE'S THE PUZZLE?"

"right there."

Indeed, when you look at the ground between you and the skeletons again, you see a piece of paper that you had missed your first time look around.

"SANS! THAT ISN'T A SUFFICIENT PUZZLE!"

You don't see his shrug, your gaze fixed on the piece of paper. "oops."

Papyrus loudly sighs, though you don't think he does anything quietly. "FINE. LET US SEE HOW THE HUMAN DEALS WITH YOUR 'PUZZLE'."

You slowly approach the paper, and reach down and pick it up. It's a simple crossword, one that looks like it has been pulled out of a children's coloring book. In the corner, in blue crayon, are words. 'take as long as you need.'

You look up, and the paper falls out of your numb fingers.

"SANS! THEY BARELY EVEN LOOKED AT IT!"

Sans doesn't respond, staring at you and you staring back at him. Finally, he turns to Papyrus. "you're right. you should go prepare the next puzzle to make up for it to the human."

"YOU'RE RIGHT SANS! I SHALL DO THIS RIGHT AWAY!" Papyrus runs off, leaving just you and Sans.

You start walking past Sans, knowing Papyrus will have the next puzzle set up before you get there. And that Sans will be there waiting when you do.

A hand grips your arm, halting your progress. You look down at it, then up its arm up to its owner. His usual smile seems a bit strained, his eye lights once again searching your face. You can tell what he wants to ask, if you're ok, if you want to talk about it, the question on the tip of his tongue. If he asks that, the answer would be no. Instead, to your surprise, he asks, "do you want to get some nice cream kid?"

Startled by the random question, you can only numbly nod, confused.

His smile doesn't become less strained, but he lets go of your arm, and heads back the way you came. When you don't immediately follow, he stops and says over his shoulder. "well, are you coming kiddo?"

You hurry to catch up.

 **Author's Note: Yeah, Frisk is having some issues. But hopefully nothing a little nice cream won't fix! ^^**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Thanks to DragonsRule18 for letting me bounce ideas off of them. Also, I have zero self control.**

The blue bunny seems pretty friendly enough, a bit strange to be selling ice cream, or nice cream as it's called, in a cold climate. Though he claims it's the best weather to have something cold.

He seems excited to have some customers, bouncing up and down slightly. When Sans asks what flavor you want, you point to one randomly. Sans orders one of that flavor, and the blue bunny monster eagerly hands it to him, Sans handing the bunny something in turn, which turns out to be the gold stuff you got from some Monsters in the Ruins. The blue bunny Monster, who you decide to call Nice Cream Bunny, thanks you for your purchase and tells you to tell your friends about there being nice cream in the woods.

Yeah, that doesn't sound creepy at all.

Sans leads you a bit away, then hands you the nice cream, not taking any for himself. You reluctantly pop the tip into your mouth, sucking lightly, and as soon as the nice cream hits your tongue, you feel a shock go through you. You faintly note that the flavor is coffee, but that is only a small part of the whole experience. It energizes you and makes a pleasant buzz throughout your whole body. Your eyes widen, and you quickly devour it while trying to simultaneously savor it. You feel a lot better than you did before, and it's like you can take on the world.

Sans chuckles. "first time eating monster food?"

You nod, remembering the food you had saved in your inventory, wondering if they all affected you like this. If they did, you regret not trying them sooner. You're almost tempted to lick the wrapper, before Sans puts the trash into his inventory.

"so, kiddo," Sans starts, causing you to look up at him.

"mind telling me what caused you to be so upset earlier? and why your HP is so low?"

You shake your head, though your confused at what he means by your HP. You had been attacked before leaving the Ruins, and you hadn't had time to sleep, so you wouldn't be at full power. But you quickly shake those thoughts away, not wanting to think about it right that moment.

"alright. how about why you don't talk?"

You freeze up, immediately put on guard, the warm and fuzzy feeling left by the nice cream fading. You manage to force a shrug. He eyes you dubiously. "c'mon, talk to me kiddo."

You frown, and shake your head more vigorously. Sans sighs at your stubbornness, and even you can tell that you're being a bit childish.

"kiddo, i can't help you if you won't let me too. i won't hurt you, i think i already proved that."

Still, you refuse.

Suddenly, your SOUL is pulled out of your chest in a sickeningly familiar feeling, as you're engaged in battle. With Sans. The world bleached of all color, the white of his bones stand out even more, as you stare at him in shock. Surprisingly, he doesn't seem interested in attacking you, and doesn't give you any time to act. Doing something you've never seen before, he Checks you, and pulls up your own stats to see. "kiddo, when i first met you, your stats were at 10/20. now they're not."

It's true. Now, they're maxed out. At 15/15.

"whatever is bothering you is eating at your stats, your HP. at this rate, you'll be dead before you hit snowdin." As quickly as you were pulled into it, you're no longer in battle. Color rushes back into the world, but it fades out of your cheeks as you feel your blood pool in the pit of your stomach. 15/15. You knew those numbers represented how much damage you could take before you died. You watched the numbers on the left drop to zero as you died. But never had the numbers on the right changed.

You're shaking, and you feel Sans catch you as you collapse. His worry filled face fills your vision, and you break down. Sobbing, you clutch his shirt, pressing your face against his chest. He rubs your back as you choke out a strained, "I'm sorry!"

You can tell he's surprised by hearing your voice, but he just continues rubbing your back as you cry it all out. Instead of feeling numb after, you just feel tired, and you go limp in his arms. He presses his skull lightly against the top of your head, and picks you up. Thankfully, you weren't near the Nice Cream Monster, so no one else witnessed your, what, second breakdown?

You close your eyes, and when you open your eyes again, you're somewhere warm and cozy. You feel yourself being put down, and instinctually tighten your grip. "kiddo, you've got to let go now. i'm not going anywhere."

You relax, and the warm being with the deep voice prices your fingers off. You drift off, exhausted, as the being starts talking again.

You're awoken briefly by being moved again, and grumble a bit in complaint, but you're still too out of it and fall asleep as soon as you're put down again, this time for a long while.

 **Author's Note: Frisk is an anxious and stressed out bean. I lied. Nice Cream apparently doesn't fix everything, but just brings more problems to the surface. Hopefully, things get better from here.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Longer chapter than usual up ahead. Skeleton fluff abounds. Reader a.k.a Frisk needs a break.**

Cotton balls and fuzzy shapes fill your dreams, the few times you do dream, thankfully. Otherwise, you're mostly surrounded by velvety darkness. Soon, other things intrude on your sanctuary, such as noises. Specifically, loud noises, and thuds.

Groaning, you wake up, and reluctantly open your eyes. It feels like you're on a comfy bed, heavy comforters pulled up to your chin. You can't see much, only the outline of a few objects. The only source of light comes from under a door.

Again, you hear the source of the noise that woke you, turning out to be shouting and some more crashes.

Slowly, you get up, letting the blankets drop away, and tip toe to the door. You're missing your shoes, but are otherwise dressed as you were before you came… here. Wherever here is. You realize you don't exactly remember how you got here. There's more shouts and crashes, and you open the door slightly, allowing you to finally hear what's being said.

"-SS THE ONIONS SANS, I'M ALMOST DONE WITH THE SAUCE."

You can't hear the reply, but there must have been because the voice shouts again, "OH MY GOD SANS, THIS IS NO TIME FOR YOUR HORRIBLE PUNS! THE HUMAN MIGHT WAKE UP AT ANY MOMENT AND SINCE THEY MISSED MY TRAP SPAGHETTI I MUST MAKE UP FOR IT WITH WAKE-UP SPAGHETTI!"

You're still a little confused, but you have finally determined that the familiar voice belongs to Papyrus, and the person he's speaking to is presumably his brother, Sans the skeleton. You're still wearing his jacket you realize. You wonder why he didn't take it back already while you were asleep.

Well, no time like the present to give it back. And there's no point in not letting them know that you're up. It's not like you could sneak away anyways.

You slip out of the room, closing the door behind you, and head downstairs. The main area of the house is brightly lit, and cozy. When you're at the bottom of the stairs, you see the kitchen is to your left, and you go and stand in the doorway, stopping in surprise. First of all, the stove is on fire.

You don't mean figuratively, or metaphorically. You can feel the literal flames coming off the stove. Papyrus cuts up carrots, unconcerned, while Sans casually floats over a fire extinguisher and takes care of the fire.

You just stand there dumbfounded when Sans finally notices you, concern and worry flashing for a brief instance before he smiles at you. "hey kiddo. sleep well?"

You nod, and Papyrus turns to look at you. "AH, HUMAN! YOU ARE FINALLY AWAKE! JUST IN TIME FOR SPAGHETTI TOO! I SWEAR, YOU NAP JUST AS MUCH AS MY BROTHER, IN THE BRIEF AMOUNT OF TIME THAT I HAVE KNOWN YOU." He dumps the carrots into a pan, and pours the contents of that pan into the pot that had just been on fire, and still has flecks of the white stuff that's in fire extinguishers on it.

He balances the pot and three plates in his arms, setting them down on the table and pouring a generous serving of spaghetti onto each plate. "FEAR NOT HUMAN! THE GREAT PAPYRUS'S GREAT SPAGHETTI SHALL RAISE YOUR SPIRITS IN QUICK ORDER!" He looks at you expectantly, so you sit down at one of the seats. At least the spaghetti didn't have flecks of fire extinguisher foam in it.

Sans shrugs and takes the other seat, though he keeps an eye on you. After Papyrus puts the pot away, he takes a seat as well. "NOW, LET US DIG IN." He watches you, the same expectant look on his face. You don't want to upset him, so you take a cautious bite. This food also sends a tingle through you, but you can also appreciate the food itself. It's not that great, but you already feel yourself perk up, and it's not that bad either. And you're still starving. You quickly manage to eat your whole plate. When you're done, you push it slightly away from yourself, and mutter a small, "Thanks."

"WOWIE HUMAN! YOU MUST HAVE REALLY LIKED MY SPAGHETTI!" You would shrug, since that statement isn't totally accurate, it's just that you like to finish the food that's given to you, but you don't want to hurt your host's feelings, so you smile and nod. You're alarmed when he tears up. "YOU LIKED IT SO MUCH YOU'RE SPEECHLESS! YOU MUST BE DYING FOR SOME MORE!"

"give the kiddo a break paps. you know what they say. too much of a good thing can be a bad thing."

"NONSENSE! ONE CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH OF MY SPAGHETTI!"

"how about the fact that they might be full?"

"OH! HUMAN, ARE YOU FULL?"

You nod. "THEN I APOLOGIZE FOR MY THOUGHTLESSNESS! I SHALL PUT THIS SPAGHETTI AWAY FOR YOU TO CONSUME AT A LATER POINT." He gets up and puts stuff away, busying himself in the kitchen, leaving you with Sans.

"it was nice of you to eat all of my bro's spaghetti. i know he isn't the best cook around, but he tries." You just shrug, and Sans doesn't push it. You get up and take off his coat, holding it out to him. He looks at you surprised. "keep it kiddo. you need it more than i do. the cold doesn't bother me any ways, it just goes right through me."

"OH MY GOD SANS, THAT WAS HORRIBLE! " You giggle, both at Sans's joke and Papyrus's reaction. Sans's grin widens. You slip back on the coat, despite being inside. It's cozy, and it makes you feel safe.

"AND NOW YOU HAVE INFECTED THEM WITH YOUR TERRIBLE SENSE OF HUMOR!"

You mumble quietly, "I thought it was pretty humerus."

Both Sans and Papyrus stare at you in shock, and you feel acutely uncomfortable. You should have just kept your mouth shut, you got too comfortable, it just slipped out. Your face is starting to turn red when Papyrus throws his hands up, groaning dramatically, and Sans bursts out laughing.

"kiddo, that was awesome!"

"NO IT WAS NOT, IT WAS JUST AS BAD AS YOUR PUNS! I KNEW YOU HAD INFECTED THEM!"

"i'm so proud."

"DON'T BE!"

"you're smiling too."

"I AM AND I HATE IT!"

You relax, and smile at their antics. This wasn't so bad.

* * *

Sans didn't push you to talk again, so you kept quiet for the rest of the evening, content to just listen and watch.

Turns out, you had been passed out in Papyrus's room, since Sans's room was apparently inhospitable and a mess, and the couch was no place for guests. You didn't feel like reminding Papyrus that he was supposed to be capturing you, and he didn't bring it up either, so you just let it be.

After dinner Papyrus sat you down on the couch, and flipped to a channel that starred a robot, which you thought was pretty cool. You were so entranced you almost didn't notice Papyrus scolding Sans about leaving a sock out while they had guests over. You didn't really care.

Papyrus otherwise focused his whole attention on you. And on Mettaton, the robotic star. He gushed about Mettaton, and soon you knew more about him than you did about Papyrus. Papyrus also bemoaned the fact that you didn't get to complete all his puzzles, but you could do that at later.

Sooner than you anticipated, Sans was shutting off the tv and declaring it was bed time. Papyrus quickly got up and rushed to get ready, leaving you alone with Sans again. The book on the table was suddenly very interesting to look at.

There's a small dip in the couch, as Sans takes a seat next to you.

"so, kiddo. want to talk now?"

You shake your head, which Sans seems to accept.

"ok. that's fine, you can talk when you want to. how about this. do you feel like your HP is going to go down?"

You think about it for a moment, and you shrug. Sans eyes you for a second, and then looks relieved. "it hasn't gone down since... the nice cream. so that's good. problem is, it hasn't gone up either. until it does, i would like for you to stay with me and papyrus. is that alright with you kiddo?"

While you don't want to stay long, you don't want to die before you're done because your HP dropped while you were uninjured. You could bear to stay for a little bit. You nod.

Sans stands up. "good. let's get you ready for bed. you can borrow some pjs."

He offers his hand, and you take it, getting up. There were worst places to stay.

 **Author's Note: Please, let me know what you guys think so far! ^^**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Sorry for being a bit late. I'll try to update Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays.**

You took the bed, and Papyrus took the floor. You had tried staying on the couch, since you felt bad about Papyrus sleeping on the floor, but when he saw you, he simply picked you up and carried you upstairs. Since meeting the skeleton brothers, you have had that happen to you a lot. But you found that you didn't mind being picked up by them, so you didn't make a fuss.

Mercifully, you didn't dream.

The next morning, you wake up much easier, to the same sounds as yesterday. This time, you are only confused for a second. You quickly get up, almost tripping over the legs of your pj pants. While Papyrus's clothes fit your width, lengthwise was a different matter. Papyrus was tall, which you could appreciate more when you were closer to him, and when you were wearing his clothes.

Speaking of Papyrus, his bedroll on the floor had been neatly put away. Rolling up the cuff of your pants, you head downstairs. Like yesterday, Papyrus and Sans are exchanging banter as Papyrus cooks. But, instead of spaghetti, it appears to be oatmeal. Papyrus notices you first, and waves enthusiastically, unfortunately with the hand that had the stirring spoon, getting pieces of oatmeal all over the kitchen.

You wave back, smiling.

"mornin' kiddo. you slept well?" Sans asks, appearing as if he himself is asleep on the table. One eye cracks open to look at you. You've quickly gotten over the strangeness of their faces, you realize. You nod.

"SANS, GET OFF THE TABLE!"

"i can't, i'm a glass."

"NO YOU ARE NOT SANS!"

"awww, you're right. you see right through me."

"YOU ARE NOT EVEN A TALL DRINK OF WATER!"

"oomph, you wound me bro."

"GOOD!"

You take a seat at the table, quietly chuckling.

Breakfast occurs without much incident, and you eat the oatmeal as easily as you ate the spaghetti, much to Papyrus's joy. It's only burnt a little too, probably from not having caught on fire. Over breakfast, Sans makes the announcement that you would be staying with them for a little bit. Papyrus is so happy he picks you up and spins you around, until you are both dizzy.

Sans tells you while Papyrus puts away breakfast that you aren't allowed to leave the house, since he doesn't want you getting hurt. You feel a tightness in your chest at the familiarity of the situation, but you don't say anything.

After Papyrus puts breakfast away, he settles on the couch with the newspaper, looking pretty intense. One time, you looks over his shoulder and see he is on the horoscopes. There are notes and such all over the page, and it appears he is trying to solve it. Sans swoops by and takes some of the newspaper. "time to solve the daily crossword." He says with a wink, inexplicably agitating Papyrus.

"WHY DON'T YOU DO SOMETHING HARDER?" He demands.

Sans shrugs. "i don't know, this is pretty hard. it's what I gave the human to solve too."

"WHAT?! NO WONDER THEY DIDN'T EVEN TRY IT! JUNIOR JUMBLE IS INFINITELY HARDER!"

"junior jumble? c'mon, that's for baby bones."

"NO IT ISN'T! HUMAN!" He shouts, surprising you.

"WHICH IS HARDER? JUNIOR JUMBLE OR CROSSWORD?"

While you didn't want to look like a fool, you also didn't want to lie. Reluctantly, you mutter, "Junior Jumble."

"HA! IN YOUR FACE SANS!" With a smug smile, Papyrus gets back to work on his horoscope. Sans nudges you. "thanks for that." he says quietly. He thinks you chose Junior Jumble to not hurt his brother's feelings. You shrug, as if saying no big deal. Really though, you had a hard time unscrambling words. Pulling words out of your head was no big deal though. You liked to read. You like to think that you had a pretty extensive vocabulary because of it. Not that you ever really spoke.

Junior Jumbles though were the only part of coloring books that you didn't touch when you were younger. Eh, who were you to tell Sans otherwise.

* * *

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Papyrus took the day off, while Sans disappeared sometime around lunch. Papyrus confessed that's the usual time Sans would get up. It was unusual for him to get up as early as he did that day. "BUT! IT'S ALSO UNUSUAL TO HAVE GUESTS OVER!"

Papyrus doesn't pressure you to speak. He does enough talking for the both of you. He's pretty excited to show you his room more closely, though you're curious about Sans's room, with the lights that flash under the door.

He had a ton of cool action figures. He set up extensive battles, which you enjoyed taking part in, even if it was only following his orders. You could tell he had to stop himself from naming the enemy Humans, which you appreciated.

Spaghetti for lunch, and then you went to back to your battles.

By the time dinner time has rolled around, Sans had come back, and plops down next to you on the couch as Papyrus made dinner. Mettaton is on again, as he was on all the channels. You still aren't tired of the novelty of him being a robot, like one out of your sci-fi novels!

The actual quality of his shows though were a bit iffy. But you guess they were pretty popular, the way Papyrus goes on about Mettaton. Almost as much as he boasts about his own greatness.

Sans seems content to watch you be engrossed in the show on tv in relatively companionable silence. Soon though, Papyrus calls you both to dinner, which is, surprise surprise, spaghetti.

Much like last night, you eat it quickly, this time not hesitating to hold your plate out for seconds, which Papyrus joyously gave you.

After dinner, Sans stops you before you went back to watching tv. "hey kiddo. got a moment?" You nod, and give him your full attention. He pulls a package from seemingly nowhere, and holds it out to you. Excited, you carefully tear open the packaging, revealing a bunch of clothing. Sans clears his nonexistent throat. "since we can't have you wearing papyrus's clothes all the time, i got you your own."

You look back up at him in wonder, overwhelmed. He shifts, looking a little uncomfortable under your gaze. You reach into your inventory and hand him some G, hoping that's enough. His eye sockets widen. "kiddo, you don't need to pay me back. consider it a gift. besides, it's nothing fancy," he says, handing back the G. Not wanting to be rude, you nod, and put the G into your pocket.

You look through the clothing, and see that he had gotten you a pair of well worn boots, some pants and shorts, and a few shirts and sweaters, all with stripes on them. When he sees that you're looking at the shirts and sweaters, he clears his throat again. "you are a kid, right?" You're not sure what that has to do with anything, but you nod anyways. He looks relieved. "good, good."

Papyrus comes in and picks you up. "GUEST! A METTATON MOVIE IS ON! COME ON!" Chuckling, you let him carry you to the couch, relaxing. Today wasn't so bad.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Sorry about the shorter chapter than usual, I had to split this one and the next one up, otherwise they seemed to run on a bit. ^^' And better late than never, right?  
**

Each day quickly became tedious. There were only so many battles that could be set up with Papyrus's action figures. And Papyrus couldn't put off not going to work forever. So, for a lot of days, you were left alone to amuse yourselves. Often leaving you bored silly.

By the end of your first week with the skeleton brothers, you were itching to get out.

While you yourself couldn't see your stats outside of battle, and you didn't think either Papyrus or Sans would initiate one with you and you didn't know how to initiate a battle yourself, Sans kept looking at you as if he could see straight to your SOUL. Paired with what he had said before you came to their house, you didn't doubt that he was checking your stats somehow. He never seemed really pleased, but at least he didn't look like they were dropping any lower.

On day nine, you finally came up to him, and asked him how were your stats. You wanted to be able to leave the house, and you were feeling cooped up. Sans simply sighs. "it's not gotten any lower kiddo. but it hasn't gotten any higher. it's too dangerous for you to leave the house. someone might attack you."

Papyrus, seeming to come out of nowhere, like an angel in battle armor and smelling of spaghetti, says, "WELL, THEN THE HUMAN COULD GO OUT WITH ME! I'LL MAKE SURE THEY'RE SAFE AND SOUND."

Honestly, you could hug that skeleton.

Sans looks between your hopeful face and Papyrus's hopeful face. He sighs. Which he does a lot for a creature that doesn't have lungs, or organs. "sure. alright. as long as you're with paps." Both you and Papyrus cheer, though he's more boisterous than you.

* * *

Papyrus starts taking you out with him on his errands, or on small patrols around town. It was not that big, and with only a few shops. They all face one way, facing the main street, and on the other side of the street is a steep ravine. It was like perpetual Christmas, though apparently the Monsters here called it Gyftmas. Twinkling multi-colored lights lit the town cheerfully, and the warm lights from the shops beckoned you within. How Papyrus manages to stay on task astounds you, since all you want to do is window shop.

You almost always sat on his shoulders, perched up above everyone else, and safe and sound. Most Monsters left you alone, though a few exchange pleasantries with Papyrus. He tells them you are his and Sans's cousin, the few that asked. It was pretty obvious he was not used to lying, though no one questioned him, and he got less nervous the more he says it.

Soon, you are able to recognize the Monsters around town by name. And they get used to the sight of you on Papyrus's shoulders.

Sometimes you would find yourself lulled into a nap while he did his errands. It wasn't your fault he was so cuddly! And Papyrus refrained from waking you, though he would complain afterwards that you were just as lazy as Sans.

He never took you out of town, but at least this was progress. The progress bar was filling up. Where the end was, you weren't quite sure yet.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: Sorry for the late update. I hope the long chapter makes up for it. Well, longer than usual for this story.**

Lunch time rolls around, and Sans plops down next to you on the couch. "heya kiddo. you hungry?"

You nod, your stomach rumbling as if to back you up.

"welp, i'm heading to grillby's. want to come with?" Surprised, you look over at him. He doesn't seem like he's joking.

He notices the look you're giving him. "what? you think i'm kid-ding?" It takes you a second, but you snort at the pun, making his grin widen. He always seems pleased when he makes you laugh. Could be because Papyrus always groans at them, so he must appreciate a receptive audience.

Undeterred, he pokes your side, the boniness of his finger absorbed by your sweater. "c'mon. i know a short cut there, we'll be back before you know it." He continues poking until you finally push his hand away and relent. You didn't want to seem too eager to go out with him. Though you were.

Sans takes your hand after putting on his gloves, and oddly enough leads you into the kitchen. Before you can question him, the familiar linoleum fades away to hard wood floors, and the noise level jumps a few decibels. Instinctively, you move closer to Sans, wary of the strangers around you. And your presence hasn't gone unnoticed either.

Several Monsters turn to look at you and Sans. Sans seems unconcerned by their attention. Some you recognize from your time out with Papyrus, and when they recognize you, they turn back to their meal. A pack of dog Monsters get closer, curious, Sans still not moving or showing a sign of worry. A giant dog in a suit of armor, and a dog who's neck seems slightly stretched, and a pair of dogs with axes, and one that you recognize as Doggo.

Remembering how he can't see things unless they're moving, you hesitantly wave at him. His face twitches in recognition. "Oh, it's Sans's pup!" One of the robed dogs turn to Doggo. "You recognize" "them?" The dog still staring at you finished the other dog's sentence, though their voice seems more masculine.

Unperturbed by the way the robed dogs seamlessly finished each other's sentences, Doggo nods excitedly. "Yep! They came by my station a few weeks ago. I thought they were intruder and almost attacked them. They gave me a pat!" The biggest dog and the slightly smaller dog immediately perk up at the mention of a pat, wagging their tails and panting, in their excitement accidentally knocking over their table, which had some chess pieces on it. Doggo helps calm them down and pick up their mess, while the robed dogs get closer to you. Sans gently nudges you in front of him, but keeps a reassuring hand on your shoulder. "pup, this is dogaressa and dogamy. they're a part of the sentries of snowden, like my bro. they're **cool** , but not as cool as he is."

The one introduced as Dogamy groans, while Dogaressa seems too preoccupied sniffing your cheek. "They smell like skeleton!" Dogamy sniffed you as well, his cold nose tickling you, causing you to giggle. "And food! Why" "They're just like" "a puppy!" They pull away and look to Sans. "You'll be happy to know" "that they are as healthy as can be." You feel your hopes rise, hoping that this means you are back at 20/20, Sans's grip on your shoulder tightens imperceptibly. "heh, thanks. now, how about me and the pup eat, since we're so **doggone** hungry."

This time, both Dogamy and Dogaressa groan.

As Sans leads you up to the bar, you can't help but briefly pat both of the robed dogs as you pass by them. The effect is immediate. "Pet?" "Pat?" "Pot?" It would have been amusing if it also wasn't a little worrying that they seemed so dumbstruck.

Sans takes a stool and you take the one beside him. PHHBBBBTTT. Startled, you jump back up, seeing the whoopie cushion on your seat where there hadn't been one before. A few patrons laugh as Sans shrugs. "whoops. be careful. some weirdo puts whoopie cushions on the seats sometimes." You glare at him, remembering how you two first met. While it had been amusing, the laughter and embarrassment cause you to be a bit steamed at your skeletal companion.

"what's with that look? almost everyone in this establishment has had that happen to them at one point or another."

"Except you Sansy!"

"except me."

Rolling your eyes and huffing, you take a seat again, this time without the flatulence.

"so, what will it be? hamburger or fires?" Confused, you look at the menu, and tap them both. Weren't fries supposed to just be a side dish?

"both huh? you must be really hungry?" You shrug. "well, if you're getting both, you're paying for it." You pull out the pockets of your jacket, showing you have nothing. "yeah yeah, i'll just put it on my tab. yo, grillby."

A Monster you hadn't noticed in all the excitement comes over. Though how exactly you missed him confounds you, considering he's literally on fire. You recoil away from the flaming being, and stumble away off your stool. You got to put him out, he's on FIRE, why won't anyone help him?!

Thin but comforting arms pull you close, and at first you struggle until a comforting voice says, "hey, it's ok, this fire won't hurt you, you're ok. you're here. listen to my voice. you're safe." The voice repeats soothing nothings over and over again. Slowly, you relax and stop trembling, letting the comforting being rock you. You don't even notice you had been crying until bony fingers gently wipe your tears away, and turn your face to look up at a skeletal one. You've never been more happly to see someone in your life. "you with me kid?"

Shakily, you nod, and Sans looks relieved. You realize the restaurant has gone silent, and you look to see all the Monsters are staring at you and Sans. Heat rushes to your cheeks in embarrassment, you bury your face against Sans's chest, humiliated. Sans keeps his arms wrapped around you, and you hear him say something presumably to the flaming Monster. "you're fine, they're ok. they've just had some bad experience with fire, they've never seen a fire elemental before. they don't specifically want to put you out, they didn't mean it like that."

You don't know if the flaming Monster says something back, because the dog pack are asking Sans questions. "Is the pup ok?" "Are they hurt?" "Do they" "need to see a healer?" There's a small whine at your feet, and you look down to see a tiny white dog looking up at you in concern. While Sans answers the dog pack's questions, you shakily pet the tiny dog, and it instantly looks happier.

"alright kiddo, let's head home. i think we've had enough excitement for today." Despite the fact that you were still hungry, you don't feel inclined to argue with him, and let Sans herd you out the door, into their kitchen somehow. He sets you up on the couch, and wraps you up in blankets, and sets up the tv to a Mettaton channel. Without a word, he sits next to you, and you lean against him, just enjoying the company, not really taking in what's going on in the tv.

If what Dogamy and Dogaressa had said was true, that you were in perfect health, that was probably not true anymore. Despair fills you at the thought of never getting better. As if picking up on your distress, Sans wraps an arm around, comforting you quietly.

Far sooner than his usual end of shift, Papyrus comes home, bursting through the front door. It bounces back, but Papyrus is already in front of you when it slams back into the frame. He picks you up. "TINY HUMAN! DO NOT FEAR, PAPYRUS IS HERE TO TAKE CARE OF YOU!" You don't protest when he cradles you to his chest, taking comforting from his loud and distracting presence. One handedly, he carries you to the kitchen, Sans trailing behind you.

Papyrus's usual fiery passion for cooking is toned down as he cradles you, one handedly cooking spaghetti. The flames don't even lick up the side.

Even when he's done, he doesn't put you down, and Sans helps set up a plate without prompting. Papyrus places you down in a chair, and takes a seat protectively next to you, wringing his hands, Sans taking up post on the other side of you. The pasta isn't as burnt, though you never minded, and the sauce has less strange things in it. Your growling stomach prompts you to dig in, enjoying the tingling feel of the magic.

Soon, you feel more settled and your plate is cleared off. Papyrus whisks off the plate, and you get to your feet, though you barely take a few feet before Papyrus picks you up again and carries you to the couch.

Curled up against Papyrus's side, you spend the rest of the day watching mindless television with him and Sans, until you fall asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

You slept through the night and woke up the next morning, clutching a pillow and the blankets still wrapped around you. There's some chatter coming from the kitchen, and you lift your head to see Sans at the table and Papyrus busy in the kitchen. You could almost pretend that this was a normal morning. Except Sans and Papyrus were doing their best to keep quiet. Well, as quiet as Papyrus can get.

You feel a quiet despair in your proverbial soul. Or maybe it's your actual SOUL, you don't know anymore. When Sans finally takes you out, you go and freak out about a 'fire elemental'. Maybe it would be better if you left. You were just a burden.

"heya kiddo. how are you feeling?" You look up at the sound of Sans's voice. He's looking at you with pity. Slowly, you get to your feet, and shuffle to the table, taking a seat, avoiding Sans's gaze all the while. Papyrus places a plate of oatmeal in front of you. "HUMAN. SINCE YOU MISSED DINNER LAST NIGHT, I MADE AN EXTRA LARGE BREAKFAST. YOU MUST KEEP UP YOUR STRENGTH."

You poke at the oatmeal, not wanting to hurt Papyrus's feelings, but not feeling like eating. Papyrus and Sans neglect their own meals as they watch you, making you more self conscious. "HUMAN, IF YOU ARE NOT FEELING UP FOR EATING, PERHAPS WE CAN SAVE SOME FOR LATER." Papyrus takes your bowl, and wraps it up, placing it in the fridge.

"kid, if you want to talk about what happened, you know i'm all **ears**."

"THAT'S A DUMB PUN SANS!"

"eh, i thought it was humerus."

"YOU HAVE LOW STANDARDS UNLIKE MY IMPRESSIVELY HIGH ONES."

"now don't get all **high** and mighty with me." Papyrus groans at that one, but it doesn't even draw a giggle from you. Sans eyes you, and sighs. "i'm serious about listening to you kid. i want to help."

You absently trace a pattern on the table clothe, frowning slightly. "My… HP." You start quietly, Sans immediately coming to attention, eye lights focused on you.

"The… robed dogs, Dogaressa and Dogamy…"

"they're fine kid, they just got a little worried about you."

Guilt shoots through you, but you shake your head, that hadn't been what you meant. "No… I mean… At the bar, earlier… they said… that I was perfectly healthy… but after my…"

"panic attack." Sans helpfully provides when your pause drags on as you searched for the right word.

"Yeah, that… My HP must have dropped again… what's it at now?"

"kid…" Sans sounds a little pained. "your HP wasn't at full strength. the dogami have remarkable noses, heck, all of the snowden dogs do. but they can't tell you your stats. they were just saying you had no physical injuries or diseases. your HP was at 16/16. though, surprisingly, your HP hasn't dropped again. it's still at 16/16."

He leans forward and squeezes your shoulder, and you look up at him. "this gives me hope that you are getting better. soon, you'll be at 20/20 again before you know it." Giving what you assume is supposed to be a comforting smile, you can't get past the pity you see in his eyes, and you know he's just humoring you. You'll never get better. It is pointless to pretend.

Selfishly, you lean into his touch, seeking false comfort from it. You want to pretend just a little bit longer.

 **Author's Note: Reader is not a reliable narrator. And they sometimes act contrarily. Just keep that in mind. And things must get worse before they get better.**


	14. Chapter 14

This time around, a few days after the incident, when you asked if you could go out, Sans didn't put up a fuss. Papyrus continued going out with you.

While you should have been pleased, the brothers were treating you like fragile glass. Sans didn't offer again to take you to Grillby's. He was probably afraid you would freak out again, which just made you feel worse.

You tried to pretend that what had happened never happened, but little things would just show that was impossible. On your errands, Papyrus would go out of his way to avoid Grillby's establishment, walking dangerously close to the ravine sometimes. And various Monsters that had been there the day you and Sans went would make a point of asking if you were ok, to which you always responded with a thumbs up. They still asked next time they saw you if you were ok in a voice reserved for those obviously not ok, or who had just lost a limb or something.

One day, on an errand with Papyrus while you were nodding off, Papyrus let out a gasp of shock, jolting you awake. "I FORGOT SOME VERY IMPORTANT STUFF THAT I NEEDED TO DO." He looks up at you and looks torn. "BUT I HAVE TO WATCH OVER YOU! OH, WHAT SHALL I DO?"

"What stuff?" You were curious as to what could be giving him such a dilemma.

He looks around and pitches his voice lower, leaning in as if telling you a secret. "SENTRY STUFF."

"Really? Cool!" It was very cool. You never saw Papyrus do sentry stuff. The days he had sentry stuff he would just leave you at home. You realize with a start that lately you've been thinking of the skeleton household as your home too. You quickly shake your head, determined not to think of the implications of that.

"YES, IT IS COOL! ALAS, I CANNOT DO SENTRY STUFF WITH YOU. NYOO HOO HOO. PERHAPS I SHOULD JUST TAKE YOU HOME."

"No!" You say a little too quickly.

At Papyrus's inquisitive look, you quickly backtrack. "I mean, I have you, the Great Papyrus to protect me! There's no need to take me home yet. Pleeeaaaase." You unabashedly give him a pleading look, and he crumbles. "FINE HUMAN. THE GREAT PAPYRUS YIELDS UNDER YOUR PUPPY DOG EYES. I SHALL DO THIS SENTRY STUFF AND YOU SHALL STAY BY MY SIDE."

With that course of action decided, Papyrus swiftly takes you out of the town, heading out into the woods. He stays on the road, and you guys soon arrive at a Sentry station.

"Thank you so much!"

"IT IS NO PROBLEM HUMAN" He says putting you down. He looks around quickly, and then down at you. "PLEASE STAY HERE." You nod, and he goes off, leaving you alone. Looking around, you realize you're alone for the first time in weeks, outside. The impulse to run off strikes you, and you quickly squash it down. So much for you staying by Papyrus's side.

You find a tree to lean against, build a small snowman.

Barely ten minutes go by before Papyrus is back. "SORRY TO HAVE LEFT YOUR SIDE HUMAN. I NEEDED TO DO SOME PRIVATE CLASSIFIED SENTRY STUFF, BUT I MADE SURE NO ONE WAS AROUND."

"How?"

"HOW DID I MAKE SURE NO ONE WAS AROUND? WHY, I SCANNED FOR THEIR SOULS OF COURSE!"

Before you can ask him another question, he picks you up and carries you home.

It seems that Papyrus and Sans were resolved to answer nothing.

 **Author's Note: The reader feels left out and Papyrus is being secretive for some reason. In an effort to not make the reader worse, the skeleton brothers might just make everything worse.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, school work and actual work work made it difficult to find time and motivation to sit down and finish this chapter. Yesterday was my birthday. Not that that explains why it was late, just why I didn't post this yesterday. Thanks to Dragonsrule18 for helping me with ideas for this chapter.  
**

Occasionally, Papyrus would have to do important sentry stuff, though not often, and if he was out with you, he would take you with him, always looking around to make sure no one was around. You never found out what it was he was doing, and every time you asked he would (very badly) change the subject or avoid the question altogether.

One day, absorbed in making a small snowman army, a thin object whips across your face, covering your mouth. Before you could react, you're pulled back into the tree line and dragged through the snow. Struggling proves useless, and you can't cry out with your mouth covered, your throat constricting in fear. Coming to a complete stop, you feel yourself slammed against a tree, knocking your head a bit. Looking up, you see a familiar face.

Flowey?!

Your mouth still covered, all that comes out is a wordless groan.

"Shhh! You'll get us discovered!" He hisses.

You thrash harder, attempting to break away.

"I said shut up!" He bangs you against the tree again, and you immediately freeze, your heart pounding wildly in fear. Slowly, he lowers you to the ground, and you see you're wrapped up in vines. "If I release you, will you run?"

You quickly shake your head.

"Not like it will matter anyways, I'll catch you in a second." He slowly releases you, and besides rubbing the back of your head, you don't make a move to escape.

"Do I have your attention?" You reluctantly nod. "Good." Flowey grins pleasantly, not as annoyingly wide as the first time you met him. And he tried to kill you. "Now, do you remember what I told you the last time we 'talked'?" You nod again, and Flowey rolls his eyes. "Use your words dummy, I know you can talk. Your mutism isn't cute." When you don't respond, he rolls his eyes in exasperation and sighs. "Ugh, never mind. But obviously you don't remember what I told you. Because I told you this world is kill or be killed, didn't I?"

"Yes?"

"Ah! They speak!" Flowey says sarcastically, throwing two small vines up in the air like arms. "And if you remember that, why are you hanging out with dumb and dumber?"

When you cant your head in confusion, Flowey sighs. "Sans and Papyrus. Why are you staying with them?"

"B-because they're nice, and they are taking care of me." While you don't want to talk to Flowey, you know he won't be as considerate as Sans to your wishes, and would find a way to make you talk if he really wanted you to talk.

"Ugh, how does such a crybaby like you have my powers? Even your HP is weaker than regular Humans!"

You wince, and Flowey quickly backtracks. "That's not why I'm here. I'm here because you're in danger."

At that, you can't help but snort in startled disbelief. Why would Flowey care? And why would he try to protect you?

"Listen, about the first time we met, I'm sorry for trying to take your SOUL. I didn't know you would be a good Human. Most Humans aren't." He sounds genuinely contrite, and you find yourself nodding in agreement at the latter statement. Flowey latches on to that opening. "Besides, every Monster you meet wants your SOUL. Or are trying to get it. Heck, the Monsters you're currently living with are notorious Human killers!" Your blood runs cold. Sans? Papyrus? But it can't be. They are so kind to you. They take care of you. Papyrus especially seems like he couldn't harm a fly.

"You're probably thinking I'm lying. But you remember what happened with Toriel. She killed you twice!" You flinch, staring at him with wide eyes. "I told you, you have my powers. I remember everything. She acted kind at first too. She took care of you. She fed you. But she wouldn't let you leave. And when push came to shove, she killed you. The skeleton brothers don't let you leave the house without one of them there to make sure you don't escape. You're a prisoner."

"N-no no no, they're trying to keep me safe. My HP has gone down. I-I-I c-can't-"

Flower interrupts you, "And why has your HP gone down? It was fine when you left the Ruins. It was fine until you ran into Sans. He did something to you. And sooner or later, when he gets bored of taking care of your sniveling self, he's going to kill you. For good."

You curl up into a ball, your head between your knees. No no nononono. He can't be right. Sans would never… he he he cares for you. Papyrus is your friend, he wouldn't let Sans. Unless it was all a lie.

"There you go, you're getting there. By the time they tire of you, all it will take to kill you is a single hit. Buuuuut…"

You look up at him hopefully and curiously.

"There's a way to get your HP up faster. Even Sans wouldn't be able to bring it down again."

"Wh-what?"

"All you have to do," he slings a vine around your shoulder in a familiar manner, "is kill a Monster."

It seems like the whole world narrows down, and you're staring at Flowey in shock. Kill a Monster? You can't! You couldn't!

"Ok, to be real with you, the first time we met, I lied about how to get LOVE. You don't get it through 'friendliness bu-' I mean 'pellets'. You really get it by killing something. It makes you stronger, and your HP will increase. LOVE is the only way to save yourself. It's the only way you're going to live. Do you WANT to die again?!"

You frantically shake your head, and Flowey settles down, looking self-satisfied. "Good. Now, if you ever need help, just call on your good pal Flowey." He pats your head, then pops into the ground, vanishing. Not a second later, you hear Papyrus call for you.

"HUMAN? HUMAN WHERE ARE YOU?" Your body feeling bruised, you get to your feet. Shaking the snow off your gloves and jacket, you follow Papyrus's voice. You're surprised when you find yourself soon stumbling out of the tree line. Flowey hadn't taken you as far away as you thought.

"OH, THERE YOU ARE!" Papyrus sounds so relieved, he strides toward you, kneeling right in front of you. He looks you over, frowning at the disheveled look of your clothes. "ARE YOU HURT?" He reaches toward you, and you flinch back. He stops, and his hands drop back to his side, looking hurt. You keep your gaze on the snow, and shake your head no, that you were fine.

Papyrus gets back to his feet. "IF YOU ARE UNINJURED, LET US RETURN HOME." Instead picking you up like he always does, he lets you walk by his side back to the skeleton brother's house. Your reaction must have hurt him more than you thought.

When you enter the household, you head straight to the couch, wanting to drown your thoughts in some mindless tv. Maybe Mettaton is on. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice Papyrus quietly conversing with Sans. At the point he starts being loud again, Sans indicates they take the conversation outside. The walls muffle what they say, leaving you to mull over your thoughts. Not even Mettaton is enough to distract you.

Sans is apparently a Human killer. Maybe Papyrus didn't know? No, Flowey said you were living with Human _killers_ , meaning more than one. Despite knowing that, you couldn't contemplate killing either one of them. Maybe one of the other Monsters would be better.

You smack yourself in the head. How can you even contemplate such a thing?! You were truly the worst. Flowey was wrong. Sans and Papyrus have done nothing but watch out for you, apparently at the risk of their own livelihood. You should have never considered them as anything less but the best. You were just selfish, leaching off of their resources. Your very existence was a threat to theirs! You can't stay here. You had put them through too much already.

You know what to do.

Getting to your feet, you put on your sweater. You consider taking your jacket, but with a heavy heart, you leave it on the couch.

Confirming that Papyrus and Sans were still talking at the door, you head into the kitchen. There's a window leading to the side of the house facing the shed. Using a chair to give you some much needed height, you open up the window and slip out, the snow below the window cushioning your fall. Dusting yourself off, you sneak behind the shed so that Papyrus and Sans won't see you, and you make a break for it. Faintly behind you, you here Papyrus's shouts of dismay. They must have discovered you weren't in the house. Hopefully you have enough of a head start to get away.

Fog collects, and soon, you can't see a foot in front of you. Disoriented, you trip, face-planting in the snow, your hands splayed uselessly to the side. Your face stings and you can feel the cold creeping into your sweater. You are tired. So tired. Your eyelids feel heavy, and holding them open required a lot of work. You desperately want to live but the thought of just lying there and resting sounded enormously appealing.

You aren't an idiot, you know what hypothermia is. But you couldn't find it in you to care. Time seems to slip away as you lay there.

A small voice urges you to get up, to stay warm, to keep moving. You would have ignored it if you right then didn't hear the sound of footsteps approaching. Limbs numb, you scramble to your feet and quickly press onward. You can't be found. The footsteps behind you also speed up, having locked in on your location. Glancing behind you for a second, you don't notice the ledge that suddenly appears, until your feet fly out from under you. Strong arms catch you, stopping you from falling to your death.

"HUMAN! THAT WAS QUITE A TUMBLE YOU ALMOST TOOK. GOOD THING I WAS HERE TO CATCH YOU!"

You squirm out of his grasp, dropping to your knees. Papyrus reaches out, but you quickly get away, turning to face him when your a good distance away. The hurt plain on his face from another of your rejections pains you, but you don't let it sway you.

"Leave me alone!"

Papyrus doesn't even flinch at your harsh words. He opens his arms out to you, the hurt abating to worry. "PLEASE, HUMAN. I KNOW WE CAN RESOLVE THIS. I DO NOT KNOW WHY YOU FLED, OR WHY YOU SEEM TO DISTRUST ME, BUT KNOW THAT WE ARE HERE TO HELP, AND THAT IT IS DANGEROUS TO BE OUT HERE. YOU COULD WANDER OFF A CLIFF!"

His concern makes you want to cry. Even now, when you attempt to run away, when you're harsh to him, he tries to help to help you. He truly is innocent of all the Flowey accused him off. You don't know how you even considered him of it. He's a pure SOUL. You don't deserve it. You don't deserve his kindness, or his mercy.

Your emotions must show in your face, because Papyrus takes a couple of steps towards you in an effort to comfort you. You take a few steps back. "Stay away! Before I hurt you!"

Now there's confusion on his face. "HUMAN, I DO NOT SEE HOW YOU CAN SAY THA-"

"Because I'm awful and just being here puts you and Sans in danger and you better just let me go off before I end up killing you!"

Papyrus takes a few more steps forward, and you take a few more back. "HUMAN, I KNOW YOU WOULD NOT DO THAT. YOU ARE ONE OF MY BESTEST FRIENDS. YOU HAVE BEEN NOTHING BUT KIND TO MY BROTHER AND I, AND IN FACE OF THE DANGERS YOU FACE, IT WOULD BE SO EASY FOR YOU TO LASH OUT. PLEASE, RETURN TO US SO THAT EVEN IF YOU DON'T STAY, YOU WILL NOT BE UNPREPARED."

All you want to do is just give up. A voice urges you to go to him, to not act so rashly while you were so upset and confused. And you still can't feel your hands or feet or the tips of your nose and ears. Your instincts urge you to run away (again) before you hurt him further. You should have left a long time ago.

He takes another step forward, and you take another step back, not realized you had scooted around to having your back to the edge again, until the ground drops away behind you but it's too late, your weight is already placed on the foot that is on air and you're falling backwards, Papyrus not close enough to catch you.

You close your eyes and wait for a painful death and a RESET. Maybe this time you can skip past this whole painful goodbye, because you can't remember the last time you last SAVED, or felt DETERMINED.

But it doesn't come. Your SOUL feels odd and your body feels weightless, and when you open your eyes, everything is tinted blue, and you're looking up at Sans's panicked face.

"i got you kiddo. don't worry, i got you."

Slowly, you're pulled back up with his magic until you're in reach of Papyrus, who pulls you up the rest of the way, promptly putting you down on the ground safely and gently. You look up at the both of them, and they're some distance away from you, just barely visible in the heavy mist, but both watching you anxiously, not making a move towards you in case you back up again.

Everything aches, up is down, down is up, and all you know is that these two care about you. You break down for what must have been the hundredth time, nerves wrought with tension. Flowey was right, you really were a cry baby. You get to your feet and stumble towards them before collapsing, but that's all they need to crowd around you, Papyrus picking you up and Sans wrapping his jacket around you. The warmth of his jacket, which is something that still confounds you since he's a skeleton, reminds you that you had been lying down in snow for who knows how long. You tremble almost violently, and you can't stop unconsciousness from taking you on the walk back to your home.

 **Author's Note: Ok, I know I make Frisk cry and pass out a lot, but they go through the emotional wringer a lot. Imagine going through what they are going through but you're only ten. And you're trying to make all these big decisions but everything you do just seems to be the wrong thing. Not to mention that as I try to make it obvious, they haven't had the best past, and they have a few issues, to say at least. But this is a big turning point for them, emotionally and in their healing.**


End file.
